Shares of industrial and transportation companies fell as investors hedged their bets ahead of Friday's August jobs report.
Weekly initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 130,000 to a seasonally adjusted 881,000 in the week ended Aug. 29, the Labor Department said Thursday.
General Motors and Honda Motor plan to jointly develop new vehicles for North America through an alliance that would deepen existing ties between two longtime rivals, an effort to save on costs by pooling their vast resources.
France said it plans to spend about $118 billion on jobs programs, green technologies and health care as it seeks to heal its economy from the effects of the pandemic.
Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com
